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When we picture a beach, most of us imagine golden sand. But travel a little and you will find beaches that are black as coal, soft pink, deep red or so white they hurt your eyes in the sun. The colour of sand tells the story of where it came from. Here is what gives the world’s beaches their colours, with puzzles of some of the most beautiful examples.<\/p>\n
Most of the world’s sand, especially on continental coasts, is made mainly of quartz, one of the hardest and most common minerals in rocks such as granite. Over thousands of years, rivers and waves break down rocks into tiny grains and carry them to the sea. Traces of iron and other minerals give the grains their yellow, golden or brownish tones.<\/p>\n
Some of the whitest sand on Earth is almost pure silica. Whitehaven Beach in Australia’s Whitsunday Islands is made of about 98 percent silica, so fine and pale that it stays cool underfoot even in the midday sun. At nearby Hill Inlet, the tide swirls it with turquoise water into ever-changing patterns.<\/p>\n
In the tropics, many white beaches have a very different origin: coral. Waves break up dead coral and shells, and a surprising amount of this sand comes from parrotfish. As they feed, they bite off pieces of coral, grind them with strong teeth in their throats and pass them out as fine white sand. A single large parrotfish can produce hundreds of kilograms of sand in a year.<\/p>\n